Footsteps
by Blue Trinkets
Summary: Beach episode but the manga version. Spoilers for chapter 28-29. Mitsuru x Kokoro centric.


Footsteps...

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Mitsuru x Kokoro Fanfic by Blue T.

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 **Spoilers!** If you haven't seen the official manga, particularly chapter 28 and 29, and don't want it spoiled, skip this one.

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 _What's with this girl?_ That has been his first thought when he realized she has followed him.

He has told her to leave him alone before and yet, here she is again! Disturbing his peace. He has spied the strange looking area from a distance and wanted to explore. Alone.

With the others, his usual aloof demeanor was enough to drive them off. But Kokoro? She's more persistent than anyone he has ever met.

And the silly girl hasn't even noticed him squatting on the ground as he picked up a relic from the past. A soda can that was crumbling apart.  
 _Yeah, she can be pretty oblivious too._ But surprisingly, it didn't irritate him as it should have.

"What is this place?" Kokoro wondered quietly, almost to herself. She looked around at the decrepit old houses that were slowly being taken over by nature. Overgrown grass, vines and just natural urban decay that was slowly reducing the man-made structures into dust.

"Apparently, it's some kind of a small city." He replied. Mitsuru wondered why he spoke at all, he could have easily lost her if he kept his mouth shut. And yet for some reason, he worried she might get in trouble if she wandered alone into the unfamiliar surroundings.

Kokoro made a startled sound at his first word. "Mitsuru!" She looked at him with relief, as if _she_ was the one who was worried about _his_ safety. _Silly girl._

"So here you were." Kokoro said in her usual cheerful voice, walking closer to where he still sat on his haunches.

"Why did you follow me?" He asked her as he straightened up, his eyes tracing the long, lithe form of her slender legs. Abruptly, Mitsuru looked away, wondering what got into him, he wasn't one to gawk at people's bodies. But Kokoro...there's something about her that drew his attention.

"I told you before, please leave me alone."

He's really not used to people this close. He had been able to keep his distance just by a sharp glance or a cold word. But Kokoro...she baffled him.

Why does she want to stick around?

"But...we're at the beach and people are having fun." Kokoro said, looking at him not with the usual _you're such an asshole_ glare he was so used to receiving. Instead, she looked at him with genuine curiosity, like he was some sort of puzzle she couldn't figure out.

"I'm not interested." Mitsuru murmured. There was nothing in the sea that he couldn't find in a book. Besides, to really enjoy the sea you have to dive in where the marine life was, but without proper gear...

"What's with this place? It's so different from the cities we know of."

Mitsuru paused from walking. He didn't know why he felt compelled to answer, but he did. "Right. Within those domes are the cities where the adults live. The pinnacle of humanity's wisdom."

He looked around at the strange place, part civilization, part nature. "Compared to that, this place is..." Abruptly he stopped talking, realizing he has spoken more words with her in five minutes than he did with his co-pilot Ikuno in a whole month.

"I will explore a bit..." He told her.

"Huh? But..." Kokoro wasn't sure that was a good idea. They could get lost in there.

"You should go back, Miss Kokoro."

That made her pause but Mitsuru had his back to her, and didn't notice. It was a formality he didn't accord to the others. And she wondered whether she liked the distinction or not.

Hearing nothing but the sound of her footsteps behind him, Mitsuru said, "I can't guarantee your safety ahead."

Not bothering to look behind him or wait for her answer, he started walking deeper into the place.

She didn't say a word but she kept on following him. Mitsuru wondered how many minutes of silence would it be for her to take a hint.

At this point, he would usually lose all patience and just yell at the intruding person to back off.

But he did none of that.

"Miss Kokoro..." Mitsuru muttered, trying for his most impatient, most condescending voice. "I see that you haven't heard me."  
Yeah, that didn't come out well now, did it? Not sure why he chose to be polite when a biting remark would certainly do the job. He must be going nuts.

"It's because you're so serious." Kokoro said, and even without seeing her, he could hear the smile in her voice. "I can't leave you alone."

What now? Does he fascinate her? That's definitely a first. The others usually noted what a jerk he was. And he did nothing to change that.

As if realizing she has said too much, Kokoro changed the subject. "Besides, I'm interested in this place." Curiously looking around though nothing appeared exciting, just a novelty from their usual surroundings in Mistilteinn. "I wonder if anyone lives here."

"It doesn't look like it." Mitsuru answered as he looked up at what appeared to be signposts for something. There were vague figures of what looked to be people below a sign that said 'Children Crossing'. "It seems like there used to be a community here before."

Then he realized that he couldn't hear anything behind him, no footsteps. Not even the sound of her breathing. "Miss Kokoro?"

Mitsuru turned around and found she was gone.

This was actually his chance to be alone, to finally explore this place in peace. But he couldn't shake off the heaviness in his chest, and before he could question his emotions, Mitsuru found himself searching for Kokoro.

The weight of dread grew with each empty house he looked into without a single trace of her. Panic was beginning to rise until he wondered if he should run back to the others and ask them to help him search.

 _Dammit, girl! Where could you have gone?_ The feelings were unfamiliar to him, he hadn't cared this much for anyone before...much less worried for their safety.

He found her sitting on her haunches inside one of the decrepit building. Releasing a long sigh of relief, now that she's found safe and unhurt, he can afford to be royally pissed off.

"Don't wander off like that." He murmured, unable to be irritated at her for more than a few seconds. "What are you—"

Some bits of debris fell at her left side, making him gaze upwards to the concrete ceiling. It didn't look very stable, in fact, it looked like it's about to— _dammit!_

"Kokoro!" He cried out as he rushed towards her, forgetting the danger to his own self, driven only by his need to keep her from any harm.

He absorbed the impact of the floor with his own body, shielding her as much as possible as they rolled to the side, just a few seconds before the ceiling collapsed and slabs of broken concrete crashed to the floor right where she had been sitting before.

Dust both from the ceiling debris and the floor made him cough for a few seconds before he gingerly raised his head to look at Kokoro.

They were lying on their sides, her back pressed against his chest. The smell of apples rose from her hair, distracting him for a moment, Mitsuru found it quite pleasant and the scent of her skin was amazing...Kokoro felt so soft against his body.

She remained unmoving, not even making a sound. Did she get hit? Worried, Mitsuru raised his body over her, his cheek pressed against the side of her head as he tried to check if she's hurt anywhere.

"Miss Kokoro are you—"

The sight of her breast greeted him, from his vantage point of view, the cup of her bra has loosened up, exposing her nipple. She was so pink, a pretty contrast to the creamy perfection of her skin.

Mitsuru was barely aware of the sudden hard thumping of his heart, his gaze riveted on her. Never had a girl's body fascinated him before, but up close like this, he found Kokoro very attractive. Her skin felt so silky smooth.

So pretty, so soft he was baffled by the sudden urge to lower his head and lick her, just to find out if she tasted as good as she looked.

She was so warm, the soft weight feels so good against his— What the hell?! Mitsuru gasped as he finally realized he has cupped her against his palm without knowing it until now.

Abruptly he released her and rolled away, just as when Kokoro recovered. "Mitsuru?"

She found him standing by the window, his back to her.

"I told you so! It's not safe here!" He admonished her but his tone lacked the usual bite. He's aware of the flush on his cheeks but he could attribute it to the adrenaline rush when he pulled her to safety.

He wondered if she knew that he had touched her intimately.

"I'm sorry." Kokoro said as she sat there. "But thank you for helping me."

Mitsuru glanced back at her and was puzzled why she looked somewhat different to him now. Prettier? More...attractive. Was it because he has touched her, has held her close? Nonsense, it's just the adrenaline. Tomorrow they'll be back to normal.

That didn't stop his eyes from taking one more glance at her as Kokoro sat there holding something on her lap. There's no denying it, she does indeed look prettier.

A book? Where did she get that? His eyes glanced at the cover with casual disinterest until he read the title 'Your First Baby.'

 _Baby?_ He knew what that word meant, but its context posed more questions. It implied they could have a baby...no, not just one. If there's a first, there could be more.

"You know we're not allowed to read such things." He reminded her. The topic of babies has been banned long ago, they weren't even allowed to discuss it, much less read a detailed book on such subject.

Kokoro merely nodded her head. Mitsuru decided he has done his 'duty'. What she wanted to do with the book is now up to her.

Just then, they heard the voices of their friends, calling out their names.

"Let's head back."

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 **A/N:** I always wanted to write this the moment I read the manga. Kentaro Yabuki has made some changes, one of them is the beach episode which I appropriated for this one shot. :D

Mitsuru calls her Kokoro-san, while it implies formality, I kinda like the extra respect he places on her name, it's sort of like Kenshin who addresses Kaoru as Kaoru-dono. An extra reverence if you will. ;)

The manga has been unofficially translated in English, I found this in mangarock. It's also serialized in shonenjump, they post new manga chapters every 2 weeks I believe, and character sketches in between. It's in Japanese tho.


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